Glass Little Boy
by madwriter223
Summary: There was a glass little boy, sibling to a glass little girl. The girl broke a long time ago, and the boy tried his hardest to piece her back together. He tried so hard he failed to notice he was breaking too. Angst, Drama, Blood, attempt at non-con.


**Glass Little Boy**

_Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a husband and wife made of stone. They wanted to have children very much, but no ordinary children, oh no. They wanted to have special, outstanding children, children that everyone would be envious of._

_So they had a boy and a girl made of glass._

_They cared for them very much, and taught them how to fit into a world made of stone. But they were not stone, and yet they didn't know a glass world. So they pretended to be happy._

_Then one day, the glass girl was taken away by the sky. They tried to turn her into a mountain, but she couldn't be what they wanted her to be. And she broke._

_The glass boy heard the 'crack', and run away from his stone home. He went to the sky and gathered up all the pieces of the glass girl. Then, he found a dark corner where he spent the rest of eternity trying to find the right glue to put the glass girl back together._

_And he was so busy doing it, he didn't notice that he was breaking too. After all, they were both glass. And glass is too fragile to survive untouched for long._

_But it'll be better when he breaks. He'll be stronger when that happens. Outside, he will be stone, untouchable like his parents. Inside, he'll be a million shattered pieces, but no one cares what's on the inside. They just see the fake stone he wears now and ignore the shine of the glass. And when he won't be fake stone anymore, no one will probably even notice._

"Is something the matter, sir?"

"Thinking about River's story. Quite an interesting tale, ain't it?"

"Disturbingly familiar, sir."

"You noticed too, huh?"

"Quite."

"That leaves us with one question."

"And that would be?"

"What to do when our 'glass boy' is breaking?"

Zoe didn't answer. Truthfully, she didn't like the doctor very much. Or at all, for that matter. But then she remembered the look she noticed on him once. He had been standing to the side, looking as the rest of the crew talked and laughed. He looked like a child then – a shy child wanting to join in and play with others, but too afraid he'd be rejected.

It was difficult to ignore a look like that.

However, "What made you think that he needs to be saved from that, sir? According to the tale, it would do him good."

"Right." He nodded, leveling a look at her. "It's best to leave him alone and allow him to break."

"It could be, sir."

"Yeah but... nothing breaks of itself, now does it?"

"Maybe that dark corner he holed himself in isn't as safe as he thought."

Mal chuckled. "We're talking like River." He paused. "Yah know, I don't recall the word 'safe' anywhere in that tale."

"Me neither, sir."

*~*~*~*~*

"Aw, c'mon Doc, don't be so stiff. Loosen up a little." Whisper. "Or this will hurt pretty much."

Pale hands shaking. "I refuse to 'loosen up'! Release me!"

"Why should I? You don't wanna do your duty now?"

Shocked stillness. "Duty?"

"Why do you think Mal keeps you around? Sure, you're a good doc and all, but those are many. That lily-white ass of yours probably helped him make the decision." A lewd leer. "So, you gonna shut up and spread 'em or should I just help myself?"

A thin line spread down the middle.

*~*~*~*~*

The crayon stilled in her hand and River lifted her head, turning to look at the empty hallway behind her.

"River?" Kaylee moved towards her, following her gaze, but not seeing anything.

She was silent for long moments, then turned empty eyes to the mechanic. "Crack." Was all she said before she selected a black crayon and started drawing harsh lines all over her picture, not even flinching when the gunshot sounded from the distance.

*~*~*~*~*

Zoe was the first to arrive, her gun steady in her hand as she stepped into the bathroom. What she found there froze the blood in her veins, even more than the agonizing screams had.

Jayne was curled up on the floor, both hands clutching at his groin, blood all over them. And next to him stood Simon, naked, wet, with a gun in his hand and dead eyes staring dispassionately at the merc.

"What'sa matter, Jayne?" he asked, poking him with a foot. "It's still attached. No need to cry over a new hole to urinate with." His voice was cold and detached, as if he was stating the weather.

As she watched, he dropped the gun and leaned down over the other man. "Come near me again and you'll have a new hole to defecate with to match."

He straightened then, meeting Zoe's eyes for the first time. Without a word, he moved to the door, walking past her, still nude. She noticed his hands were shaking.

*~*~*~*~*

River finished her drawing, the colours and shapes indescribable from underneath the many dark lines, and stood up, moving to the infirmary. She stood in the doorway, watching as her brother filled a syringe, tapping its side to get rid of any bubbles.

"Time to sleep?" she asked, staring sadly as empty blues eyes turned to look at her.

"Yes, Mei Mei." Broken glass boy nodded, parts of him chipping from around the many cracks covering him. She watched as he brought the needle to his arm, pushing it past his skin harshly. "But not for you."

She understood that – the need to disappear, to stop hurting for at least a while.

She bit her lip and moved closer, lifting the piece of paper she held. "I made a picture."

Blue eyes made of glass/stone turned to the dark lines, a sad smile curling him lips. "It's very accurate."

A minute later, she watched as he collapsed onto the floor, his naked body twisting as it fell gracelessly.

She understood that too. "Simple Simon..." she murmured, rearranging his limbs so they wouldn't hurt too much when he woke up. She sat down next to him, murmuring softly as she petted the still wet strands.

"Glass little boy broke,

Crackity crack,

And when he next awoke,

His mind went numbtity nack."


End file.
